All friend groups have that one friend who is always late.
If you want to go for brunch at 12:00pm, you need to tell them that you’re going at 10:30am so that they’re ready on time.
Being late is a sure sign of poor time management and it can negatively the individual personally as well as the social interactions they have. Not many of us are patient enough to continue including the one person who always results in us losing our reservation.
Being on time is one of the critical skills anyone who has achieved success possesses.
It’s certainly not something we can all easily master, but it’s surely something we all need to actively work towards achieving, especially if we want to achieve our goals.
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Some of the Benefits of Being on Time Include:
- Increased productivity
- Goal achievement
- Positive reputation
- Improved decision making
- Reduced stress
- Improved quality of work
- Increased free time
- Adequate time allocation
- Increased focus
- Less procrastination
- More self-confidence
Despite all these and many other widely known benefits of being on time, some of us just can’t help being late. Sometimes we do the best we can to be on time but somehow we just end up late.
Below are some of the reasons why you might fin yourself in this cycle without any solid explanation.
Knowing these causes will help you actively work towards being on time more often!
4 Common Reasons Why You’re Always Late & What You Can Do About it
1. Poor time management skills.
This starts from the time you snooze your morning alarm.
Instead of waking up at 6am, you snooze the alarm a few times before actually waking up at 7. Now, you were supposed to be sitting for breakfast at 7 but now that has to be skipped since you’re late. Eventually, you end up with a snowball effect of lateness and you are behind on everything you have to do that day.
If you struggle with managing your time effectively, you might find it difficult to complete tasks on time and arrive at appointments or meetings on time.
So, to avoid this try to always plan your day in advance, start your day on time and do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it.
This means everything is assigned a time slot to be accomplished and if you focus in that window then you can have it all done in the allocated time.
2. Procrastination.
This undoubtedly slows us down in almost all aspects of our lives.
When you procrastinate, it’s easy to leave everything until the last minute. Rushing to get things done at the last minute will typically result in being late.
Moreover, delaying or postponing tasks might also result in you being unable to give the task your best. Rather, use the 5-second rule, especially when working on not-so-pleasant tasks. This rule suggests that you should start a task within the first 5 seconds of you even thinking about it.
3. Overcommitment.
Saying yes to everyone and everything might seem like a great way to please the people around you, but that is not always the case.
This might actually have the opposite effect on your social relations. If you agree to every invitation that lands on your desk, you will likely find yourself having to sprint from one side of the town to the other so you can be on time for everything.
In order to avoid this, make sure your phone is working for your benefit. We all have calendars at the palm of our hands. Once you agree to meet someone, add it to you calendar and remember to add the venue as well.
Before committing to something new, check your calendar and ensure that there is enough space for you to be there on time.
4. Traffic or transportation issues.
Sometimes we’re late because of things beyond our control and this is one of those.
If the bus has been delayed or these has been a car crash and your trip has been delayed there isn’t much you can do.
However, in some cases, you can avoid this by looking at your mode of transportation online before you leave your place. This will help you get a rough idea of how long your trip will take. Where possible, it will also allow you to make changes to your mode of transport.
Final Thoughts on Not Being Late
Being on time is important for a variety of reasons.
It demonstrates respect for others’ time and shows that you are reliable and dependable.
Time is a valuable resource, and effective time management can help individuals prioritize their tasks, reduce stress, achieve their goals, and increase productivity.
By being on time, individuals can make the most of their time and increase their chances of success in both their personal and professional lives.
Therefore, it is important to cultivate good time management habits (avoid procrastination) and strive to be punctual and reliable in all aspects of life.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published Mar 23, 2023 and has been updated to improve reader experience.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
